Is Eternal Damnation Eternal?

The Bible teaches that when the sinner dies, he immediately goes to hell. (Luke 16:19-31) Those who are suffering in hell do so until the day of their resurrection to stand before the Lord at the Great White Throne judgment. (Revelation 20:11-15) This judgment takes place at the time the old heavens and earth are passing away, at the end of the millennial kingdom. (Revelation 20:7-11) After their judgment, all sinners are cast into their final place of eternal punishment – the Lake of Fire. (Revelation 20:15)

Some people ask: Will those who go to the Lake of Fire ever be forgiven and allowed to join the saints in the new heaven? (See Revelation 21-22) They believe that the expressions “forever” and “eternal” leave the door open for this possible interpretation. In essence, they do not believe that eternal damnation lasts forever. Let us examine the evidence.

 

1. The sinner’s resurrection is a resurrection and judgment of damnation or punishment.

When people are resurrected, after being in hell since their death, they are not resurrected to stand before the judge (Jesus Christ) to have a second chance to confess and be forgiven. Clearly, the Scriptures declare that their resurrection and subsequent judgment is unto damnation. The Apostle John recorded the words of Jesus, when He said: “Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.” (John 5:28-29) Many years later, the Holy Spirit revealed to the Apostle Peter that God reserves “the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished.” (2 Peter 2:9)

 

2. God is just in His punishment of the wicked unto damnation.

The Scriptures state that God is just in His sentence of damnation given to the wicked. (Read Romans 3:3-8 and 2 Thessalonians 1:3-10) Therefore, He would be unjust in removing the wicked from their state of damnation. One must remember that God’s judgment is not based upon His love or mercy, but His holiness. His judgments must be just – fitting for what He has declared and what the wicked deserve.

 

3. The state of the wicked in their punishment in hell and the Lake of Fire is declared to be “eternal,” “everlasting,” and “forever.”

The Scriptures repeatedly state that the judgment of the wicked is “eternal,” ‘everlasting,” and “forever.”

Look at the following passages:

Matthew 25:46- “And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.”

Mark 3:29- “But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Spirit hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation.”

Mark 9:42-48- In this text, it is recorded that Jesus taught that those who are in hell never die and “the fire is not quenched.”

2 Thessalonians 1:7-10

 

4. All unbelievers go to hell upon their death, where they will wait their resurrection for their judgment at the Great White Throne Judgment, described in Revelation 20:11-15. All are judged and all are cast into the Lake of Fire.

Revelation 19-20 gives us great insight into the reality of those who suffer in the final place of punishment – the Lake of Fire. Notice that in Revelation 19:20, the Antichrist and the False Prophet are cast into the Lake of Fire at the end of the Battle of Armageddon. Then, 1,000 years later, the Devil and his angels (demons) are cast into the Lake of Fire, where the Antichrist and False prophet are still suffering. They have not been annihilated. The punishment in the Lake of Fire is declared to be “day and night forever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10)

 

Conclusions:

We are living at a tragic and deceptive time at the end of this age. It is a time of great spiritual darkness. This darkness exists because of people’s ignorance of the Bible and their wrong view of God and man. The tendency of our sinful heart is to elevate man and dethrone God. We make man more like God and God like man. We live in a day when people like to focus on certain words, without studying their historical usage in the original language in which the Scriptures were given, to force an interpretation upon the Bible that is foreign to the overall context of the Bible and the very nature of God.

Concerning the fate of the wicked after death, there are two growing views that attempt to give some relief to the sinner. Those who hold these views believe that the unsaved will not suffer in the fires of the Lake of Fire forever.

Annihilationism- This view teaches that everyone will be eventually burned up in the Lake of Fire. It teaches that the bodies and souls of the wicked will cease to exist at some point in time. They point to words that are used to speak of the wicked after death, such as “perish,” and “destruction.” Obviously, this is not what the Scriptures teach. God can make bodies that can burn and never be consumed. Two Biblical illustrations of this are the burning bush in the days of Moses (Exodus 3:2), and the 3 Hebrew children in the fiery furnace in the days of Daniel. (Daniel 3:14-25)

Universalism- This view basically teaches that at some point in time in future the Lord will forgive those in the Lake of Fire and allow them to join the redeemed in the new heaven for the same blessings for the rest of eternity. This view does not agree with the statements of Scripture which declare that the eternal punishment of the wicked is based upon God’s justice, because He is holy.

 

Mike Wingfield - www.ptnews.org

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